Every flowering season I see white mealybugs crawling up the trunk onto the panicles in my Kesar orchard. They cause sticky honeydew and black sooty mould. How do I stop them?
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Mango mealybug nymphs hatch in the soil and crawl up the trunk to the panicles, so the key control is mechanical and timely. Around December, rake and expose the soil under the canopy to kill eggs and nymphs, then fix a 20 to 25 cm wide slippery band (alkathene or grease band, or a sticky band) around the trunk about half a metre up so crawling nymphs cannot climb. A ring of sticky grease just below the band traps them. Flooding or light tillage of the basin also kills nymphs. If they have already reached the canopy, a recommended insecticide spray timed to nymph stage can be used as per label and KVK advice, but the band plus soil raking is the cheapest and most effective. Control ants too, because they move and protect mealybugs.
Grease band on the trunk worked very well for me. Just check it does not crack in heat, I reapply once.